Bob Dylan Covers Grateful Dead’s “Truckin’” for the First Time in His Career

The careers of Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead have long been intertwined. The Bard and the band toured together in 1987, resulting in the live album, Dylan & The Dead. In the past, Dylan—potentially the most renowned songwriter of all time—has feted the jam rockers for their turn of phrase.

“Arrows of neon, flashing marquees, Dallas and a soft machine, Sweet Jane, vitamin C, Bourbon Street, bowling pins, hotels windows,” Dylan said of the song “Truckin’” in his book, The Philosophy Of Modern Song (per Rolling Stone) “the classic line, What a long, strange trip it’s been. A thought that anybody can relate to.”

Now, Dylan has taken his love for “Truckin’” one step further by performing it during a stop in Tokyo for his longstanding Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour.

The tour kicked off in 2021 and has continued to wind around the world two years into the stint. Dylan performed at the Tokyo Garden Theater on April 12, changing up his setlist to include the Grateful Dead tune.

Dylan has performed a number of Dead covers throughout his career, including “Friend of the Devil,” “Alabama Getaway,” and “Black Muddy River.” Check out a recording of the “Truckin’” performance, below.

Dylan is set to play three more nights at the Tokyo Garden Theatre starting on April 14 -16. In addition to his headlining tour, Dylan will also play a set at Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival on June 30 through July 15 and spend most of the year overseas in Europe playing more Rough and Rowdy Tour shows.

Dylan is also set to get the biopic treatment via director James Mangold and actor Timothée Chalamet. The film, still untitled, is set to start filming this August.

The film will follow the plot of Elijah Wald’s Dylan Goes Electric, documenting the infamous night at the Newport Folk Festival when Dylan adopted rock & roll. Other tentpole musicians of the era slated to be portrayed in the film include Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez.

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